The invention relates to water closets, more especially to a device for automatic lifting a toilet seat off the bowl of a water closet after use, and for keeping it on the bowl, while the toilet cover is closed and lowered onto the seat.
In public lavatories or restrooms, but also in lavatories in airports, concert halls, restaurants, hotels, assembly halls, and other public places, the toilet seats are frequently soiled and made unsuitable for subsequent users by people urinating into the bowl without lifting the seat. It also happens that the seat is covered with faeces after use, by toilet paper which was intended to be dropped into the bowl, but accidentally hits the seat. With primitive people it also happens that they step onto the seat proper while using the toilet, which not only soils but often damages it. In addition, automatic lifting the seat off ther bowl would be beneficial in houses with many children, especially boys.
Therefore, it has long been found necessary to provide a device which will automatically lift the toilet seat off the bowl rim as soom as the previous user has got up until it is lowered by the next user for sitting on it. The known devices mostly consist of a spriral spring wound about the axle of the seat, which is tensioned when the seat is on the bowl and uncoils, thereby forcing the seat up into more or less vertical position. The spring should be just strong enough to lift the seat off the bowl while the cover is lifted, but not so strong that it will lift it when it is covered by the lowered toilet cover.
These devices have two inherent drawbacks: 1. they are not adjustable after their first fitting in the water closet installation, and in all cases where the spring force decreases, they will stop operating. 2. Since the spring is to be strong enough to lift the seat from its horizontal position, while the lifting moment is the greatest, it accelerates the seat and throws it up rather vehemently, causing it to bang against the cover and to make unpleasant noise. It is true that the spring force decreases while it somewhat uncoils, but it is the inertia of the mass which continues driving the seat about its axle, assisted by the spring force.
For these reasons it is the object of the present invention to provide a seat-lifting device of the above kind which is fully adjustable from the beginning to adapt its lifting force to any weight of both the seat and the cover, and which is subsequently adjustable for compensating for changes in the spring force, increased friction in the bearings or other causes.
The invention has as its other object to make the device adjustable by any housewife or other unskilled person without the use of special tools.
It is another object to prevent acceleration of the seat movement about its axle and thereby preventing its loud banging against the toilet cover.
It is a still another object to provide a device having a clean and smooth surface lending itself to ready cleaning and wiping.
And it is a final object to provide such device at low cost so as to enable any public lavatory and even every household to install a seat-lifting device to every water closet in the place.